Vijay Singh is guilty of violating the PGA Tour’s doping policy, and he knows it.

He’s guilty of being a dope, but labelling the guy a doper might be a bit much at this point.

Singh was thrust into the doping spotlight this week when he admitted to using deer-antler spray in a Sports Illustrated article, apparently not knowing it was wrong to do so.

The problem is, the deer spray, which he said he took every couple of hours by spraying it under his tongue, contains small amounts of a substance called IGF-1, which is banned by the PGA Tour and by all major sports.

Singh released a statement Wednesday ahead of the Waste Management Open in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he was scheduled to play, but was dropped from the pro-am as the scandal developed.

“While I have used deer-antler spray, at no time was I aware that it may contain a substance that is banned under the PGA Tour Anti-Doping Policy,” Singh’s statement said. “In fact, when I first received the product, I reviewed the list of ingredients and did not see any prohibited substances.

“I am absolutely shocked that deer antler spray may contain a banned substance and am angry that I have put myself in this position. I have been in contact with the PGA Tour and am co-operating fully with their review of this matter.

“I will not be commenting further at this time.”

The PGA Tour Anti-Doping Program Manual, available to anyone online and surely provided to all of the Tour’s players, lays it out pretty clearly:

“You are strictly liable whenever a prohibited substance is in your body,” the manual warns. “This means that if a test indicates the presence of a prohibited substance in your test sample, you have committed a doping violation regardless of how the prohibited substance entered your body. It does not matter whether you unintentionally or unknowingly used a prohibited substance.”

The PGA Tour says it is “looking into the matter” and has yet to make its position on the violation and the inevitable punishment known.

There is a process in which Singh can give a written explanation to the program administrator and commissioner Tim Finchem, who would then have seven days to decide how they will handle the situation — but there really is no reason to try to make an example of Singh by imposing a long ban.

The guy made a silly mistake. This is not Lance Armstrong, folks. He did not test positive for anything and he probably wouldn’t have. He implicated himself.

Singh says he has been ingesting the spray — something he procured from a company called S.W.A.T.S., which the SI article portrays as a fly-by-night operation that deals in gimmicks — for a couple of months. Over that time, he had respectable 20th- and 27th-place finishes in his two starts this season, and if the PGA Tour seeks to erase those from his record and collect his $102,147 in earnings, that’s likely a fitting punishment for being stupid.

The man known as much for his dogged determination and gruelling practice routine should be given credit for admitting to his faux pas.

In a world where Armstrong and the a load of baseball players got away with using performance-enhancing drugs and lied about it as long as they could, Singh’s immediate admission and apology are refreshing, and should hold him in good stead with Finchem.

Some will advocate strict punishment, but the PGA Tour seems to have built some discretion into its rules. Although it suggests a one-year ban for a first-time offence for people who knowingly use a banned substance, it appears Singh will get to plead his case and hope for leniency.

While not wishy-washy, the PGA guidelines seem to leave room for the commissioner to let Singh, third on the Tour’s career earnings list with more than $67 million and nipping at the heels of No. 2 Phil Mickelson, off with a slap on the wrist. They say sanctions on players “may include” (1) Disqualification, including loss of results, points, and prize money from the date the anti-doping rule violation was found to occur forward; (2) Ineligibility to participate in PGA Tour competitions or other activities.

Pretty serious stuff, but it also states that, “In rendering his decision in a particular case, the commissioner may depart from the sanction guidance in the International Anti-Doping Standards as he deems appropriate in a particular case.”

However the PGA Tour decides to deal with Singh, its 50-year-old cheater, there will be people who feel it’s too much, or not enough.

Ignorance is no excuse in the world of doping, but Singh’s honesty should be taken into account in a situation where others have shown just how dirty they really are